With the government shutdown in its 11th day, and just six days remaining to raise the debt limit, Republicans are bearing the brunt of public frustration with Washington’s dysfunction.

A majority of Americans, 53%, place more blame for the shutdown on the GOP according to a NBC/Wall Street Journal poll released late Thursday, with 31% targeting President Barack Obama as more responsible for the shutdown. And in multiple surveys, favorable views of the Republican Party are at never-before-seen lows. In a Gallup survey, just 28% of Americans had a positive view of the GOP, and in the NBC/WSJ poll that number was 24%.

On the flip side, Obama’s approval numbers have ticked up, with a 51% favorable, 47% unfavorable score in the latest poll from the conservative-leaning Rasmussen Reports.

All told, the polling indicates a potentially catastrophic miscalculation by House Republicans, who in the pursuit of pleasing their conservative base have alienated large swaths of the rest of the country. The share of Americans who want a Republican-controlled Congress has dropped to the lowest level since early 2009.

In a closed door meeting this week, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, who is one of the architects of the GOP’s shutdown strategy to demand the elimination of Obamacare, presented his colleagues with his own take on polling, arguing that if the GOP only stays the course it will improve its standing with the public. But most of his fellow Republicans, who cite almost every public and independent poll, feel that strategy is doomed to failure.

One congressional Republican aide, who would only speak on the condition of anonymity, said the party’s pathway out is clear: “Surrender. If we’re lucky, conditional surrender.”

In an ideal world, the voter can choose between two options, each with a logical, fact-based approach to problem solving. Those can indeed come from a liberal or a conservative perspective, but one would hope for a choice of direction, each with a hope of success. But alas, this is not an ideal world. I can find a lot of issues with the current Democratic approach. But the Republicans? They have devolved into a howling mob of lunatics. Their case against Obamacare has been nothing but doomsday scenarios supported by lies and hyperbole since day one. They've allowed themselves to be hijacked by self-serving radicals who are cynically exploiting the system to make sure they get elected in Cowsbrain, Texas. They've ignored the will of the majority, tossed aside rational thinking, exploited our differences yes, including race and now behave like tantrum-throwing toddlers. To make things worse, the adults in the party have taken to closing the bedroom door and turning up the TV. This country needs balance. But instead, these manics are tipping us into anarchy. When's the next election?

Repeat after me. The Koch Brothers and big Tobacco created the Tea Party as a useful foil to allow them to cut regulation and destroy unions. These people are the ones destroying your standard of living and environmental safety protections. What kind of an idiot do you have to be to saw at the limb you sit on, to make criminals richer?

Sadly, it seems the "non-contributors" outweigh the contributors, and all the "voters" without id cards in the METROPOLITAN AREAS of country seem to outnumber the voters working hard throughout the rest of the country. They are happy to have the middle class support them. COME ON NOW, if Obama was " this great American leader" he would SIMPLIFY THE TAX CODE; but that would affect his fat cat liberal supporters and his Hollywood multi millionaires .... Just that fact proves he is a phony. He wants to eliminate an educated middle class, and revert back to the old world government FEUDALISTIC WAYS...protecting the wealth of the super rich, and having the " rest" SQUANDERING AT THE BOTTOM OF THE "oil" BARREL ...and that sure as heck is not in the middle class. Anybody who does not see through Obama's plan is a fool ...... the FACTS are THE FACTS, the enemy of THE FACTS, is OBAMA and his COALITION and THEIR FOOLISH RATIONALIZATION ...... THAT ONLY APPEALS TO the greedy, crooks, non-contributors, and IDIOTS . Sadly Obama has succeeded in dividing America with his rationalization and lies...and his dream will come true...WARFARE IN THE STREETS...... It has to be inevitable, our only hope is a successful MILITARY COUP, which is possible because he hates and fears the Military. Our system is broken, and run by crooks ....... we will have to fight to save the American Dream, and then HARSHLY punish the crooked president and leaders owned by the lobbyists. WE CANNOT LET THIS MAN and HIS CREW DESTROY AMERICA !

I would like someone to present a list of what meaningful legislation has taken place or presented by the GOP House. What ever happened to the Rubio Immigration plans. What action as the House taken to get more jobs in the US? Please, other than getting names for parks and highways, enlighten me publicly as to what the GOP House has accomplished.

I would suggest that a lot of you read up on the history of the individual mandates, health care exchanges, and what was originally the single payer system. All of these were in fact originally proposed by Republicans in the 1980's, but became contentious when Clinton started his campaign to in fact enact many of these same programs in the national health care law as the time. If you read Paul Ryan's proposal for the "Peoples Care Act", you will find references to health care exchanges, managed by the State, exactly what is in the Affordable Care Act. This has nothing to do with the ACA. It is all about politics, following through on Mitch McConnell's statement of the GOP's number one priority being to make Obama a 1 term President.

Federal government is dysfunctional because of about 30 hardcore obstructionist House Teapublicans. If they were replaced by 30 moderate republicans, the federal government would be functioning well, the US economy would be doing considerably better and the divide in US society would be healing.

The tea party types I know view gov't spending as a black vs white issue. Check this link: http://www.statisticbrain.com/welfare-statistics/. I doubt it will change tea party minds; they're in such denial, they'll probably question the validity of the source. The percentage of blacks vs whites on welfare only varies by 1%. You can see numbers for Hispanics (whom some might group with whites), Asian & other. The point is that income growth for everybody not within the wealthiest 20% has been lousy for 30 years. Whites, too! So many whites have been driven into gov't assistance. This isn't the 50s or the 60s. Things have changed dramatically since Reagan.

Tea party members & democrats potentially actually have some things in common. Democrats would love to see taxes raised on the wealthy. Tea party guys hate the wall street hotshots and the bankers & brokers who got big TARP money & big bonuses. So what would be wrong from a tea party perspective if taxes were raised on the wealthy & tax loopholes for the wealthy were eliminated? What's wrong with that?

You know traditionally the GOP has been the party of big business. And big business gets all kinds of breaks like deductions for corporate jets and loopholes that let them keep profits overseas so they can't be taxed. I don't think the tea party ideology embraces that. Democrats don't embrace it. Ask Ted Cruz if he supports eliminating tax loopholes for the super rich & large corporations. Then you'll see his true colors. The tea party seems to be the party of small business. The democrats say they want to help small business. Press them & work together with them on that. Small business need the help. Think about it.

Barack "I will not negotiate" Obama! What a legacy to leave in the history books.....Obama would rather destroy the country than work with the opposition. "Hey, Zany Joe, are there any other National Parks or Monuments we can close down? Any veteran benefits we can screw with?". The nation needed a leader, we got a Chicago"Community Activist". Shame on us!

But what are the poll numbers in the carefully-gerrymandered House districts that put these anti-government rightist fanatics into our government? Those districts will remain under Tea Party/GOP control no matter what happens to the rest of the country.

As you can see, previously the sharpest increases came within the Reagan-Bush admins and the GW Bush admins. From Oct 1, 2008 to Jan 20, 2009, the 2009 budget spending was set under GW Bush. So he gets a big chunk of 2009, too. However, since then Obama admin spending has been around the same levels, slightly higher.

Take a look at the relative increase in spending during WWII. It's often said WWII ended the Great Depression. Not the fighting itself obviously, but the gov't spending. Observe the incredible relative level of spending needed to pull us out of the depression.

We're already spending a lot now & things are getting better slowly. But what are the major differences between now and the post-WWII period....because you can see that right after WWII, the national debt started coming down quite rapidly.

We had social security back then but fewer people on it. We didn't have Medicare. Ok, but we also have people paying medicare tax and more people paying into social security. For social security, one important difference is that people are living longer. So maybe the age limit should be raised a bit. There's probably room for compromise there. And they say that doctors order too many tests that get billed to Medicare. So there have been suggestions made that doctors be compensated by results, not by the number of visits & tests they order. So room for compromise there.

From 1945 to the early 60s, the rates went up to over 90%. From the early 60s to the early 80s, they went up to 70%.

In the early 80s under Reagan, they went up to 50%. You'll note that's when the national debt started to take off.

The high end of our personal income rates are at near historic lows now and have been ever since Reagan took over. So for over 30 years high income earners haven't paid in nearly what they used to and that is one of the single most important factors in why the debt has grown. Remember until recently, there haven't been any cutoffs. So now everything up to $400K is taxed at around 36% instead of 39%.

And we know that tax loopholes for the very rich still abound..

According to Republican lore, all this tax cutting is supposed to lead to prosperity for everyone. Well, it hasn't. Relative to inflation, middle class income hasn't moved much in 30 years. What has grown are the coffers of the wealthy. 93% of the nation's wealth is now owned by the wealthiest 20%. 37% of this amount is owned by the wealthiest 1%. This is why the debt has grown. This represents one of the biggest parts of our debt problem.

As an independent, I am upset with Democrats, but I am livid at the Republicans for allowing their party to be taken over by a group of Tea Party individuals who care first about themselves, second about their "new" party, and last about sacrificing "the American people," for their cause.

I will not forget this moment moving forward. And I will work & contribute even outside of my district to defeat them so that they will remember.

Just quit changing laws willy nilly. (Which is against the law.) No where in Obamacare does it say the POTUS can grant anything. Yet he grants all his 1%er buddies waivers and exemptions. For all you Kool-Aid drinkers that is against the law. Of course Obamanites worship their leader. Ha, they still think it was the video.

Hey middle class people - how are those Obamacare premiums lookin'? Obama is out to, and is, destroying America from the inside.

@allenwoll Is a radical extremest one who wants an explanation for Benghazi ? Is a radical extremest one who wants an explanation for our government giving guns to criminals causing the death of a boarder agent... his parents are radical extremest ? Is a radical extremest an American who fears an outlandish debt to China, and saddling our children with a tax burden that is unbearable ? Is a radical extremest a man who works and pays for his own medical insurance, and is deprived of it because of Obama care that was passed "unread" ,untested, full of lies and betrayal, and then unconstitutionally manipulated by a president to appease his coalition ? Is a radical extremest a man who has worked hard, managed to save a few dollars, and now sees that because of Obama debt, his dollars and savings are worthless ? I could go on and on; yet all for naught ......... because YOU DON'T LIKE ME ? Well, I fear you more than you should fear me, because I am the working man, and I can see me loosing everything under this president and his regime, while the non-contributor, and the bureaucrat reap all the benefits of this great land. It's really sad that you and other condescending people like you "preach" the way you do, about people like me. This country is broken, and you and your crowd broke it.

@Leftcoastrocky Without the TEA PARTY America is lost, and the American dream will fade away. Income producers will support the non-contributors, crooked bureaucratic government programs will exist, and a complicated tax code will remain, followed by mufti page Bills designed to confuse the people. The many government employees will continue to be overpaid, and our children will be saddled with unreasonable debt ... and they will be taxed to death, while the mega rich continue to hide behind the complicated tax code that seemingly most of our "bought off representatives" and president support. This Obama Government is so dirty, and a disgrace to the country, it is supposed to be serving. Just look at the facts...and the plans to tax, even rob the working man. Look at his Obama care.... all lies, and UNCONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES he has made to appease the members of his coalition. Impeachment is too good for this "man". This was the "land of opportunity" and the TEA PARTY hopes to protect it. Look at it's members, they are unintimidating Americans who just want things to be fair .... they are veterans, the working man in the middle class, the guy who has his own medical insurance, and the guy who pays taxes....and he is rewarded by a government who invades his privacy, sends him off to ridiculous wars, manipulates the energy costs to keep them high, has killed a coal industry, and invested in failed business after failed business throwing away taxpayers money. We have an attorney general who represented the biggest tax cheat in history, and is a bigot, and we have a secretary of treasure who is a tax cheat, and IRS senior employees PLEADING THE FIFTH AMENDMENT. Look at our DEBT .... LOOK AT THE VALUE OF OUR DOLLAR...... LOOK AT THE Lack OF RESPECT Obama and our great Country have throughout the world...... Russia makes a joke of us ! The TEA PARTY IS AMERICAS ONLY HOPE ...... to save our children, save the american Dream, save our dollar, and gain our world respect back , and PROTECT AMERICA from her enemies. The TEA PARTY REPRESENTS THE PEOPLE, and is only condemned by the Bureaucrat and his disillusioned followers and by Obama's bought off crowd. This is a DIRTY ADMINISTRATION...... unlike anything America has ever had to live through. God save the TEA PARTY, and God love it's hard working members who's members, of all races and religions from the melting pot of America. They have built America..... and indisputable FACT ! Your condescending comments can only be answered by QUESTIONING YOUR PATRIOTISM..... and wandering really what kind of political system you support ?

@j45ashton You seem to be a wise man .... the type of person we need in the White house ? I always wander WHY a simple non complicated tax code is not put in place...seemingly it is because both Republicans and Democrats are protecting the assets of their big contributors, thus confirming that our system is run by the lobbyist. The president of GENERAL Electric was glued to Obama, and for some reason, they paid little or no taxes, through tax breaks. John Kerry gets FARM SUBSIDY and is the richest representative we have ..... example after example exists where both Democrat and republican subsidize the rich..... then look at the PORK ! The " Old Democratic party died with john F. Kennedy, who I saw as a great President who unified America, fought the military industrial complex, stood up to Russia, and gave us a very large tax break...and he was a Navy Cross winner during WWII ........... The tea party is more like him, than today's democratic party ? For the republicans to run a corporate raider like Romney was a joke ..... they beat themselves, and many tea party members could not stand him. YOU ARE RIGHT ABOUT SO MUCH THAT YOU SAID ......... But we must admit, and it is sad, that we have a president who was elected by personally attacking his opponent, and the members of the opposing party.... He is not a unifier; but a divider ....... The American people are gulable, apathetic, and mis-informed, incapable of electing candidates that can save this country ........ considering the big money involved, the activity of the lobbyist...... and the day and age that has come where the legislature has turned into a full time job, with no term limits has really affected the chances of having a legitimate government. You see THE FACTS.... and as usual.... the answers are simple; but through political lies, and rationalization, the answers are hidden from the public. Our system is broke. Where are the Patriots ? Sadly Obama is an incapable president, with no leadership qualities, and no " sense of government", surrounded by questionable characters, and trying to hide out or dig out of so many bad decisions...and mishaps that should not have happened on his watch. He has reached the PETER PRINCIPLE, and if he were a real man, and a Patriot, he would relinquish his office, or legitimately look for the best people around to clean up the mess we are in.

@thebes42 Actually the study said that 60% would kick out all members of the House. That would give us a Democratic House and Senate, and the childish bickering would stop. The GOP would be the minority party that their views so richly show that they are.

@joethejustInstead of deciding willy-nilly you know-it-all, why not try reading the changes to Title 26, Section 5000A of the U.S. Tax Code required by The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The nine exemptions NOT "against the law" are here: http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/uscode/26/D/48/5000A

@johnbourke50@allenwoll Benghazi!!! A CIA operation that went bad and that the GOP has been trying to politicize ever after. Where was the outrage when the warnings of 9/11 were ignored, when we were lied to about Iraqi nukes?

@fitty_three@johnbourke50 ....That's offensive, but I understand that when one is forced to open their eyes, the light can hurt. Oh, and I'm sorry about " the kids' , but I'm afraid if you have bought them a " special TV" you should at least sensor the set, LIKE A GOOD PARENT ?..... no telling, there might be more like me........ somebody has to do the work and pay the taxes.....and clean up the Obama mess in Washington.

@allenwoll@johnbourke50 ..... Is that not the typical comment that this terrible president and his coalition of crooks say to those who see through them, and disagree with their dismemberment of America . YOU, simply are not facing the facts ...... or maybe you are "one" on Obama's " payroll" ; he has all kinds ?

@johnbourke50@Leftcoastrocky You're just wrong on economics, and so is the Tea Party. There is some logic to ending corporate welfare, but to do that we need campaign finance reform (publicly financed elections). We also need to provide necessities to for economic participation.

America has a regressive tax system. The rich pay less than their fair share. Employees are bound to abusive employees because of student loan debt and access to health care, which makes for easy exploitation. The American dream is dead because of oppressive policies. The Tea Party is arguing for deregulation, which leads to stratification. It's CRAZY!

Look up the Gatsby Curve. It shows upward mobility and all the countries that have it provide the basic necessities for economic participation. This is the same reason FDR introduced the Economic Bill of Rights: Necessitous Men are Not Free. The same reason the United States and several other countries declared health care a human right following WWII. When the upper class has access to these necessities and the lower class must take on great debt for them, guess what: NO AMERICAN DREAM.

@johnbourke50@Leftcoastrocky Since when is acting as useful idiots to corporate criminals like the Koch Brothers protecting the American dream? They want to bust unions to lower wages and destroy the EPA so that they can pollute at will. What percentage of Americans does that benefit?

That you can craft a poll to suggest anything you want, and that presently a majority do not want Obamacare in its present form and while they wish there was another way to stop things in their tracks, the Dems won't concede their Obamacare victory isn't what the majority of the public wants after all so instead of being the public servants they're supposed to be, they're refusing to negotiate and holding the public at ransom.

The other, other half of the story is a lot of people are blindly supporting Dems on everything they do without even being able to tell you how Obamacare affects them, and failing to tell you that they have already expressed their desires on how government should work by taking handouts that amount to more than they contribute to soceity. WHY should we ever listen to someone whose primary interest is being a burden on the system?

Lastly this article is clearly biased. It mentions an anon aide suggesting GOP should surrender as the closing statement, an obvious attempt to sway readers which the author felt necessary because they aren't inclined enough to agree at the moment. Making effort to cause a change isn't done unless someone feels it is needed and why would it really be needed if this wasn't contradictory to thousands of other "anonymous" sentiments about what should happen?

Given their track record in recent years, the main problem with government shutdown is we didn't shut down the House and Senate too. THEY should feel the sting of their mistakes, not the programs they were obligated to operate by their own choices.

The debt limit is not the problem...the issue that we can have a reasonable debate on is spending. If the clowns in the House accepted the NINETEEN times the Senate asked them to negotiate on spending, then this clownshow would never have happened. But of course the GOP insisted on using government workers and debts that we have already incurred as hostages. This is NOT how government works.

@johnbourke50@mantisdragon91@allenwoll Russia offered no warning about the Boston Massacre merely suggested we should watch these people, the same as they do for thousands every year. And if you think the Tea Party is protecting America as yourself why it is being funded by people who do business with Iran and the Chinese Mob?

@mantisdragon91@johnbourke50@allenwoll OK; you are a "conspiracy theory man" ....... Think what you may, but neither of your statements stand on any foundation...... where was the outrage when the warnings came from the Russians about the Boston Marathon Massacre .....? there is SUBSTANCE to that comment. This administration should stop suing states, wasting money, and protect ALL our citizens. I'm sorry , though I question your comments about 911, I fully agree that after the terrorist event happened it was used to make the rich richer, and raise the price of oil, which is one of the main reasons we are in this predicament. I do not condone the eight years of the Bush Administration , IT MADE THE RICH RICHER on the backs of dead American soldiers ..... and the fact that we REBUILT IRAQ was a joke....it made Chaney millions. We have not had legitimate representation in the White House or the legislature for years...... Obama,who never held a job, and was gifted by government dole, a man of opportunity came in with bad ideas, lies, and a fine group from Goldman Saks. He is simply IGNORANT ..... He succeeded in raping and dividing the greatest nation in the History of the world.... and no doubt, that is how he will go down in history, the man who destroyed the middle class, and divided the country through his evil rhetoric...... and band of crooks. I think his OBAMA CARE if it doesn't destroy all of small business, it will go down as the joke of the century, promoted by a crook and a fool.

@allenwoll@johnbourke50 You are an unusual fellow, really hung out on your rhetoric . Personnel attacks have really been a highlight of Obama and his followers. Sleep easy tonight, I take my medicine regularly, and do visit " a shrink" ..... in your opinion, I guess that makes me a lesser man ? This has been tough times for those who have put forth great effort , and for those who have stood by America , and now have to see it destroyed by the likes of " your man" . By the way, my medicine is paid for by medical insurance I paid for ..... and is now going substantially up in price ......... didn't think that was supposed to happen ??? or should I just write that up as another Obama lie, and accept it. We all have our weaknesses; but I admire the man that looks in the mirror, and sees himself as he is, and does the best he can to improve his situation .... relying on his own work and merit...... and then with a good heart , helps others....and is a Patriot.